Journalist Anastasia Matsko asks court for 3 years imprisonment for the deputy who threatened her

On November 15, Poltavska Khvylia journalist Anastasia Matsko filed an appeal against Poltava's Oktyabrskyi District Court ruling sentencing City Council deputy Serhiy Boyko, who threatened to kill her, to one year's probation.

The journalist announced this on Facebook and shared the details with the Institute of Mass Information representative in Poltava oblast, Nadiya Kucher.

Photo by Anastasia Matsko on Facebook

"Today (November 15 – Ed.) the second round of my personal hell began: I went to the appeals court. Since the penalty chosen by the first instance court is far too mild for a person who has not even pleaded guilty, who is used to the language of force and impunity. It should have been three years in prison, not a year's probation – this is what I'm asking for. Morally, I'm ready, thanks to your support!" wrote Matsko.

In her comment to the IMI representative, the journalist said that she is appealing to cancel the Oktyabrskyi District Court ruling and examine the evidence.

"I ask the court to examine the pre-trial report and, if necessary, other evidence. I also demand a new sentence, convicting Serhiy Boyko of the charges and sentencing him to 3 years in prison," said Anastasia Matsko.

Previously

On March 29, 2023, Anastasia Matsko, a journalist at the online publication "Poltava Wave", has said that district council deputy, Serhiy Boyko, and the head of the welfare inspection, Maksym Malko, threatened her during a City Council session.

The police opened a case for Part 2 of Article 171 ("Obstructing the legal professional work of journalists") of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Later, the journalist's lawyer, Dmytro Semekha, requested that the Poltava police reclassify the case as threats instead of obstruction.

On May 29, Matsko and her lawyer filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office due to the police's inaction. Two forensic examinations confirmed that the journalist received death threats, but the work of the prosecutors' remained insufficient, in her opinion.

On November 7, 2023, the deputy received a suspicion notice under Part 1 of Article 345-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (threats or violence against a journalist).

The trial began in February 2024.